Thursday, January 09, 2014

Bicycling Rear View Mirror

When it comes to thinking of ideas for a Christmas list, I can usually think of bicycling accessories. Because there is so much bicycling stuff out there that I could get.

Among the things I got for Christmas this year was a rear view mirror that attaches to my helmet:

This allows me to see the traffic coming up from behind me. If I tilt my head slightly to the left, I get a view of the entire road behind me. This thing really comes in handy when making left hand turns, among other things. Actually, how did I possibly get by without one?

(Well, what I did is I turned my head around a lot to get a view of oncoming traffic, and had to be extra careful about it. Now I can negotiate traffic more confidently and safely, which is good.)

So, that's good. The mirror makes riding on busy roads much more tolerable and enjoyable. It also makes me look more like a bicycling dork than ever before. Since I first started riding in 2009, it's been a slow, but steady, degeneration.

I also got a basket of sorts that attaches to the back of my bike, so that I don't have to wear a backpack on my longer rides. This should be a lot easier on my neck and back. Hooray!

And, unprompted, Amber also got me a portable bike pump, in case I get a flat tire in the middle of Johnston County or something. I guess that's pretty smart, especially if I'm going to do more rides farther from home.